Calculate optimal CPU and memory requests/limits for a Kubernetes pod.
Kubernetes schedules pods based on their resource requests, and enforces limits at runtime to prevent a single pod from starving its node. This calculator scales a single pod's CPU and memory request up to the full replica count to show total cluster capacity needed, and applies a limit-to-request ratio to compute the corresponding limits. A ratio of 1 means requests equal limits (Guaranteed QoS); higher ratios allow bursting but increase overcommit risk.
Per-pod limit
limit = request × ratio
Total cluster request
totalRequest = request × replicas
Requests are what the scheduler reserves for a pod when placing it on a node. Limits are the hard ceiling the kernel enforces — CPU is throttled and memory beyond the limit triggers an OOMKill.
A ratio of 1 (Guaranteed QoS) is safest for predictable latency-sensitive workloads. Ratios of 1.5–3 are common for bursty workloads where you want headroom without over-reserving cluster capacity.
Total cluster resources needed scale linearly with replica count. This is what you should compare against your node pool's allocatable capacity when planning autoscaling.
Often yes — unlike CPU, memory can't be reclaimed gracefully, so many teams set memory limits equal to requests to avoid unpredictable OOMKills while still allowing CPU to burst.